Shortening material and cake made therefrom



Patented Oct. 11, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHORTENING MATERIALAND CAKE MADE THEREFROM Benjamin B. Harris, Chicago, Ill., assignor toThe Procter a Gamble Company, Cincinnati, Ohio,

a corporation oi Ohio 14 Claim.

My invention relates to an improved shortening composition and method ofproducing the same. This application is a division of my copendingapplication, Serial No. 674,036, filed June 2, 1933.

By the term shortening I mean substances of an oleaginous nature usuallyused in the food industries in baking and the like. In a more limitedsense, shortening is intended to describe the oleaginous materialemployed in baked flour products in combination with aqueous materialused to distribute sugar, flavor and other ingredients in a cakeemulsion batter. Examples of such shortenings are lard, hydrogenatedliquid oils, such as hydrogenated cotton seed oil, and the like. Myinvention is principally designed to take the place of materials of thiskind in baked flour products, although it may have other uses in theculinary arts.

The principal object of my invention is the provision of an improvedshortening composition.

Another object is the provision of a shortening composition which willimprove the character of baked flour products.

A further object is the provision of a shortening material by means ofwhich the amount of moisture incorporated in a baked flourproduct may beincreased.

Another object is the provision of an improved shortening which, byincreasing the amount of moisture present in a baked flour, can beemployed to increase the amounts of water soluble material going intosuch product.

Another object is the provision of an improved shortening which willassist in the formation of a flour batter emulsion in the manufacture ofcake.

For instance, in carrying out the object of my invention I produce animproved shortening comprising in general a hydrogenated oil or fathaving incorporated therein as an addition agent, a relatively smallamount of a hydrophyllic lipin of the character described in my prior U.S. Letters Patent, No. 1,917,254, granted July 11, 1933. Thehydrogenated fat or oil may, of course, be derived from a single oil orfat or a mixture of oils and fats from different sources. Preferably, itshould have a melting temperature of between to F,, although the rangemay be modifled somewhat. In forming the improved shortening, thehydrogenated fat or oil is melted, the hydrophyllic lipin introducedinto the melted fat or oil and dispersed completely therethrough bystirring, after which the melted mixture is chilled over a roll fromwhich it is removed in the form of chips or shavings. It is then beaten,and in the process of beating a desired amount of air may beincorporated therewith. In place of air, any suitable inert gas may beincorporated such as, for example, carbon dioxide. In some cases, I maydissolve a small proportion, from 1 to 2%, of my hydrophyllic lipin in aliquid oil to use same for special shortening in certain types of bakedproducts, but the finished product should still have fluidity atordinary room temperatures.

As described in detail in my prior patent, the hydrophyllic liplns of myinvention have a capac-v ity to imbibe moisture but have oleaginousproperties so'that they will disperse readily, uniformly andhomogeneously through the oleaginous mass and function as shorteningmaterials, in many respects similar to ordinary shortening. I havediscovered that when a relatively small amount of these materials isadded to partially hydrogenated oils they increase the water imbibingcapacity of the shortening and improve its shortening properties.

My invention has many advantages over the shortenings heretofore known.Since considerable air or other gas is incorporated therein, theshortening itself has a leavening action which assists in producing alight, baked flour batter. It aids in producing a fluffy product, whichis readily mixed in the flour dough by reason particularly of itscomparatively subdivided condition.

The improved shortening as a whole possesses greater capacity to absorbmoisture from such substances as milk or egg material. This increasedmoisture has considerable effect in retarding staling in the bakedproduct. The product of my invention has an effect of an emulsifyingagent, assisting in the formation of better flour batter emulsions. Cakebatters may be made which have the ingredients more evenly dispersed andmore easily mixed.

The improved shortening also increases the amount of water solublematerial which may be incorporated in a cake. In other words, theproportionate amount of materials such as sugar used in the cake can begreatly increased. Since the amount of moisture in the cake batter isincreased, more material such as sugar which is soluble in watercan beused. Glycerine may also be used for this purpose. Thus by using myshortening in cake batter, I can incorporate a much larger proportion ofaqueous materials to exceed the weight of flour used in a batter. I canalso incorporate amuch greater amount of sugar than flour in the batter,and have the same properly distributed. In view of the modification ofthe surface tension, my shortening has better wetting properties when incontact with the aqueous and other constituentsof the cake batter.

The class of compounds which I characterize as hydrophyllic lipins andwhich have the capacity in a marked degree when used in relatively smallproportions as addition agents to aid in the retention of moisture andassist in the imbibing of moisture in baked flour products may be saidto be the higher acyl and alkyl and similar innocuous derivatives ofvarious polyhydroxy compounds 'having free OH groups. Many of thesesubstances may be represented by the general formula wherein O and H areoxygen and hydrogen respectively, v, w and z are relatively small wholenumbers, X represents the carbon skeleton of a polyhydroxy substancewith groups (OH) and (R), wherein R is an acyl, alkyl, or some othersubstantially lipophyllic group, and wherein the ratio of w to v" is atleast one.

Examples of compounds which can be used in accordance with the presentinvention are monostearic acid ester of glycerine (monostearylglycerol), mono-palmitic acid ester of glycerol, monocetyl ether ofglycerol, monomyristyl glycerol, monolauryl glycerol, monomyristyldiethylene glycol, monomelissyl diethylene glycol, monopalmitylglycerol, mono-oleyl diethylene glycol, mono-oleyl diglycerol,mono-oleyl glycerol, diethylene glycol mono-stearate, 1,6-dilauryldiglycerol, and their equivalents. I also include in this group alkyland acyl derivatives of mannitol, sorbitol, poly-glycerols and similarpolyhydroxy compounds wherein a sufficient number of the hydroxy groupsremain unesterified or uncombined with high, molecular weight lipophilegroups so asto leave the compounds sufiiciently hydrophyllic for mypurposes.

Of the class of substances just described, there are two sub-classeswhich contain many important compounds, and to which I wish to directparticular attention.. The first sub-class comprises hydrophyllic,higher alkyl and acyl derivatives of poly-hydroxy compounds whichcontain more than one free OH group. More specifically, under this groupare the hydrophyllic stearic acid esters of poly-hydroxy compoundscontaining more'than one free OH group. Of this class, the compound withwhich I have obtained the most satisfactory results in my experimentalwork is monostearyl glycerol (mono-stearine).

The second sub-class of compounds comprises the higher molecular weightalkyl and acyl derivatives of glycols. These compounds may have one freeglycol hydroxy group. The most important example under this class ismono-stearyl diethylene glycol (diethylene glycol monostearate).

As a specific example of the operation of my invention, I select a goodgrade of cotton seed oil and hydrogenate the same until it has aclearing point of somewhere between 95 to 105 F. and an iodine numberbetween 60 and '75 or thereabouts. The partially hydrogenated oil isthen mixed in a melted condition with one or two per-cent of monostearylglycerol (monostearine). The product is chilled over a roll, scrapedtherefrom and the air or gas beaten into it until it is changed to afluffy condition best suited for use as a shortening material. Otherpartially hydrogenated oils plastic at room temperatures may be used.

For a shortening to be used in a baked flour product, such as bread orcake, the product should be plastic at ordinary room temperature.Conditions may require some modification, however, as in the example ofpuffed paste given below, wherein usually a higher melting point fat isdesired. The type of shortening material which I prefer to use, however,is one of vegetable origin, preferably a deodorized partiallyhydrogenated vegetable oil. The usual liquid oils of commerce such ascotton seed 011, corn oil, peanut oil and the like can be used with verygood results. Also coconut oils are advantageous when properly treatedby hydrogenation to render them plastic at ordinary room temperatures. Y

The shortening so produced can be used in a cake in substantially thesame way that usual shortenings are used. The procedure may also bemodified in the order of adding the various materials depending upon thetype of baked product desired. In all events, however, by employing theimproved shortening of my invention, the amount of aqueous liquids suchas eggs and milk used in a cake batter can be increased as well as theamount of sugar.

I utilize my new compounds in the preparation of any baked product suchas puffed pastry and various types of cakes, the main object being thatby the use of my compounds I can incorporate into the flour batter alarger proportion of moisture and other materials used in baking. Thematerials are distributed more uniformly throughout the batter andsogginess in the finished baked product is reduced. If a largerpercentage of aqueous materials is used with ordinary shortenings knownheretofore, the portion of baked cake closer to the bottom will bedenser and packed closer and present a condition usually calledsogginess. However, by using my improved shortening containing aningredient which modifies the shortening properties to an extent so itwill absorb a larger amount of moisture from the aqueous material suchas milk and the like used in baking, it will reduce the condition ofsogginess, distribute all of the ingredients in the cake batter moreuniformly, produce a baked product which is more fluffy, and which has abetter texture and appearance.

My invention can be carried out in several ways. I may use an ordinaryshortening known heretofore and then disperse in the aqueous materialssuch as eggs, milk, or in a portion of the aqueous material used in thecake batter formula, my hydrophyllic lipin and add same to the cakebatter. This producesan emulsion which contains the usual oleaginousmaterial of the ordinary type of shortening, with aqueous material, andmy hydrophyllic lipin dispersed inv the emulsified batter.

I may also disperse my hydrophyllic lipin in aqueous material to makeabout a 0% to paste, and then conveniently use this paste by dispersingit further in a portion of the aqueous materials, such as milk used inthe cake formula, and proceed to mix the other ingredients, such as theordinary shortening, fioui', milk, eggs, baking powder, and flavoring,to produce the cake emulsion batter. In all cases I use a largerproportion of aqueous material, such as eggs and milk, and a largerproportion of sugar than used heretofore and obtain a cake of bettertexture and appearance.

I prefer to use an alternative process by dissolving a relatively smallamount of my hydrophyllic lipin as an addition product (say up to in alarger amount of shortening of an oleaginous nature such as partiallyhydrogenated cotton seed oil, an i then treating the product asdescribed. This product is used in the cake batter to make the batteremulsion. This product also has the property of imbibing a largerpercentage of aqueous material and distributing all other ingredientsused in the cake mixture more uniformly. I find even that the proportionof shortening used compared to the flour can be increased somewhat andthis has a further effect in increasing the amount of liquid used.

The invention as claimed herein is directed to certain classes only ofthe various hydrophyllic lipins described in this application, the fattyacid monoglycerides being claimed specifically in my prior applicationhereinbefore referred to, of which this application is a division.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a shortening material containingsubstantially no emulsifled water and comprising an oleaginous substancehaving included therein about 1%-2% of a higher aliphatic ester of aglycol, said ester having a molecular formula containing an unesterifiedglycol hydroxyl group.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a shortening material containingsubstantially no emulsified water and comprising an oleaginous substancehaving included therein about 1%-2% of diethylene glycol monostearate.

3. As a new article of manufacture a shortening material containingsubstantially nmemulsifled water and comprising a partially hydrogenatedoil with a melting point between approximately 95 and 105 F., and havingincluded therein about 1%-2% of a higher fatty acid ester of a glycol,said ester having a molecular formula containing an unesterified glycolhydroxyl group.

4. As a new article of manufacture, a substantially dry shorteningmaterial comprising a major proportion of fat of the ordinarytriglyceride type and about 1%2% of a hydrophillic lipin selected fromthe group consisting of higher fatty acid esters of glycols and higherfatty ethers of polyhydric alcohols, said esters and ethers having amolecular formula containing at least one free glycol or polyhydricalcohol hydroxyl group.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a substantially dry shorteningmaterial comprising not less than 98% partially hydrogenatedtriglyceride oil with a melting point between 95 and 105 F. and not lessthan 1% of a higher alkyl ether of a polyhydric alcohol, said etherhaving a molecular formula containing at least one free polyhydricalcohol hydroxyl group.

6. As a new article of manufacture, a shortening material containingsubstantially no emulsifled water and comprising an oleaginous substancehaving and containing about 1%2% of a higher mono-alkyl ether ofglycerol.

7. As a new article of manufacture, a shortening material containingsubstantially no emulsifled water and comprising an oleaginous sub- 10stance having included therein about 1%-2% of a hydrophillic lipinconsisting essentially of monocetyl ether of glycerol.

8. A flour batter emulsion comprising an oleaginous material; aqueousmaterial, solid material including flour, egg material, and about 1%-2%,based on the amount of oleaginous material, of a higher fatty acid esterof a glycol, said ester having a molecular formula containing anunesterified polyhydric alcohol hydroxyl group, the amount of aqueousmaterial being greater than the amount of flour.

9. A flour batter emulsion comprising an oleaginous material, aqueousmaterial, solid material including flour, egg material and about 1%2%,based on the amount of oleaginous material, of a higher alkyl ether of apolyhydric alcohol, said ether having a molecular formula containing atleast one free polyhydric alcohol hydroxyl group, the amount of aqueousmaterial being greater than the amount of flour.

10. A baked cake comprising oleaginous material consisting essentiallyof triglyceride fat, solid material including flour, aqueous material inamount substantially exceeding the amount of flour, egg material, sugar,and about 1%-2%, based on the amount of oleaginous material, of ahydrophillic lipin selected from the group consisting of higher fattyacid esters of glycols and alkyl ethers of -polyhydric alcohols, saidesters and ethers having a molecular formula containing at least onefree glycol or polyhydric alcohol hydroxyl group, the amount ofhydrophillic lipin being sufiicient to effect substantial increase inthe volume of the cake.

11. A flour batter emulsion comprising an oleaginous material, aqueousmaterial, solid material including flour, eggmaterial, and less than 2%but not less than 1%, based on the amount of oleaginous material, of ahydrophillic lipin selected from the group consisting of higher fattyacid esters of glycols and alkyl ethers of polyhydric alcohols, saidesters and ethers having a molecular formula containing at least onefree glycol or polyhydric alcohol hydroxyl group, the amount of aqueousmaterial being greater than the amount of flour.

12. In the process of making cake batters containing flour, shortening,sugar, and unusually large amounts of aqueous material, the step whichcomprises incorporating in the batter about 1%-2%, based on the amountof shortening, of a higher fatty acid ester of a glycol, said esterhaving a molecular formula containing an unesterified glycol hydroxylgroup. Y

13. A baked flour product made with shortening and having as aconstituent thereof about 1%2%, based on the amount of shortening, of ahigher fatty ether of a p ly ydroxy substance, said ether having amolecular formula containing at least one free polyhydroxy OH etherhaving a molecular formula containing at least one free polyhydricalcohol hydroxyl group.

BENJAMIN R. HARRIS.

